Kumbh Mela: Money can offer you maha luxury

The luxury huts and Swiss cottages that have come up to cater to the demand from high networth individuals (HNIs) – Indian or foreign – offer all creature comforts including cuisine that’s an eclectic mix of continental, Italian and satvik.

ALLAHABAD/NEW DELHI: Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, the high priestess of haute couture, once famously remarked that the opposite of luxury was not poverty, but vulgarity. Chances are that she wouldn't have nurtured any second thoughts in picking up one of those uber-rich tour packages had she been alive to attend the Maha Kumbh 2013, an event where the poorest of the poor joins the mighty one per cent in perfect spiritual harmony.

Over 30 million people are estimated to have attended last Sunday's Mauni Amvasya day, but if you have the moolah to splurge, you would have as well been in a five star resort by the riverside. The luxury huts and Swiss cottages that have come up to cater to the demand from high networth individuals (HNIs) - Indian or foreign - offer all creature comforts including cuisine that's an eclectic mix of continental, Italian and satvik.

Many such facilities have come up on demand from well-heeled devotees of various saints and Akharas. The Lakshmi Kutir Cottages, marketed by Cox and Kings is one such place.

Organiser Dhruv Singh says his aunt Lakshmi Singh who stays in a Haridwar ashram suggested the idea to him. She was keen for someone to offer a nice place where devotees of various saints can come and stay comfortably.

Dhruv Singh, who runs wildlife cottages in MP and Rajasthan, was game and set up 50 luxury tents, six of which are airconditioned with wooden floorings.

LUXE TENTS BY RIVERSIDE

Lakshmi Kutir charges Rs 6,000-28,500 per night and is situated just outside the main Mela area on a small hillock from where guests can have a panoramic view of the Mela.

An in-residence Ayurveda doctor offers herbal treatments and massages. His guests include a 40-member group from Harvard University, which comprises of their alumni, students and professors. Most operators have put up luxury tents on the other side of the holy rivers in Jhunsi and Arail areas of Allahabad.

The crowds are thinner here providing some peace and quiet for meditation and relaxation plus it also provides some anonymity to the celebrities. Kumbh Cottages have 90 such Swiss Cottages available for anything between Rs 6,000 per night to Rs 12,000 per night, according to the category you choose.

The fire and water-proof tents come with attached toilets with European fittings and geyser. The rooms have spring mattresses and the premises are wi-fi enabled. Kumbh Cottages offers an eclectic menu for its guests coming from across the globe.

A specially set up vegetarian restaurant dishes out continental and Italian menu including pasta, macaroni, mint potato, coriander soup, noodles, cabbage saute and spaghetti among other things, says owner Ragini Singh Chandel. Those who stayed here include television crew from the National Geographic and the Australian ABC, she says.

B&B GETS WINGS

ISKCON has set up a farm of tents in the Mela area where accommodation is provided only to their members. According to ISKCON's Advaita Krsna Das, they have two types of accommodation: Swiss Cottages that come for Rs 21,000 per night and a European Plan for Rs 15,000 per night for the main Snan dates.

Das says that the charges are all inclusive including 'Prasadam' and guests have to follow the routine of the Ashram. The Kumbh Mela is also giving wings to Bed and Breakfast facilities preferred by foreigners for the privacy and close look of an Indian household.

Although located a bit far from the main mela area, the B&B facilities attached to bungalows or houses are running full.

"We wanted to maintain the large house well and also meet new people and so the thought of starting a B&B facility came to us. We are also a little choosy in selecting our guests and like some intellectually stimulating company," says Ivan Lamech, who runs Kanchan Villa, a B&B homestay at Lukerganj in Allahabad.